Engineering with Arcane Science (Private)

[Mojo]

Hoofcourt nodded in acknowledgement of Java's words.

"You are correct that any enchanted object must be durable," Hoofcourt said as he poured himself another cup of tea. "This is why that often in the past, even the ancient past, powerful unicorn masters of magic would enchant object made of metal alloys, such as the Alicorn Amulet I mentioned before. When an enchanted object loses its structural integrity, the magic inside of it escapes, and that can be disasterous. With this thought in mind, Java, we need to figure out what object is best to enchant in relation to your airship, any thoughts?"

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java leaned back in thought, letting his head roll back some, and allowed his pony tail to slowly rock back, and pendulum forward to pat against his back. After feeling the slight bump, Java rolled his eyes back and noticed the large titanium bead he had used to pin his messy hair back. He smiled for a moment, and then reached back with a hoof to move his hair forward, bringing it into the light. He quickly began to recall it's properties. Yes, titanium was a very durable metal, and practically difficult to damage, but can easily hold it's shape and structural design. This would make it perfect to attach as a core component. But it's never really known as a very pure metal like gold or silver. More than likely that would not actually matter however.

"Hm... I believe I have some spare titanium orbs upstairs in the shop. Will that work?"

[Mojo]

"Yes, titanium will do nicely," Hoofcourt said with a smile, "the object can either be shaped by hoof power or by magic. I would be happy to use my magical skills to shape it into a workable object if you like. Once that step is completed, then the spell needs to be created, a spell that is so well defined that it cannot be misused or cause accidental magical malfunctions. That is one spell casting mistake that can turn an enchanted object into a dangerous weapon. Sadly, I've seen many of those in my lifetime. In fact, I recall a certain former student of the school, a light blue pelted unicorn mare, who once messed up an enchantment spell so bad, it nearly brought down the roof of her classroom! Good thing I happened to be closeby to counteract her magic before it was too late."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java frowned at the mentioning of just one of the possible out comes, and generated by a student of magic even. So while the spell may have been a weak one, it was potent enough to wreck the cieling of a classroom inside of a well made and very durable complex. This pony wasn't making such an attempt easy on the poor Earth Pony, as now he was dealing with some major risks. Heck, even with the amount of times he had blown himself up, or broken many bones in a failure, this still sounded like it could just end with... death and no other option.

"Wow..." Java hummed with a low tone, "you aren't making this any easier for me, now are you?" But he was still not dissuaded from his trial! Not a single bit! He had spent several years working on this, and finally it had a chance to come to life!

[Mojo]

"I am the voice of experience, Java," Professor Hoofcourt Magic said, "the element of magic is not one to be underestimated. Though it is true one cannot possibly make magic enchantments 100% error proof, as a Master of Magical Arts, I can certainly do my best to minimalize any risks. Do not be discouraged, young stallion. I would not be a responsible member of the magic community if I didn't point all of these things out. Now, shall we proceed?"

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java slowly rose from where he was sitting with a smile. "I am not discouraged. I have more scars on my body from failures than I have success, but each one is a lesson hard learned. And new knowledge to take home," He gave a light chuckle as he now began to trot up the stairs to his workshop once more. "I don't think a few more will make to much of a difference however. It's just... now I am curious about what I am getting myself into." Once he was inside his workshop, the pony rifled around and moved things out of the way before producing six large titanium balls. Each one about the size of a basketball.

Once he got what he needed he quickly drilled a hole dead in the center of each one of them, and cleared completely through till the drill bit emerged from the other side. Once done, he'd stuffed them into a box and carried them all downstairs. "Ok... here we go. These are a bit heavy... but I am sure that's a good sign of durability."

[Mojo]

"So Java, are you wanting me to enchant all six of these metal spheres?" Hoofcourt asked. "Perhaps you would want me to place a low power spell on each of them so all six must be used to get the desired effect? That could serve as an effective deterant in case one of the spheres is stolen. It is up to you, young stallion. Now I need to focus on the exact type of spell to cast, a spell with enough limitations to prevent the objects' misuse, but with enough magical power to do the desired task."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java thought it over, and smiled. "Hm... the lesser effect is a good idea. However, this is being done for testing purposes," Java hummed as he now removed his horeshoes on his forehooves. "In the case of this being stolen, I don't see it being to likely when it's going to emit enough force to push an entire airship. That being the case..." He said as he now placed one shoe against the orbs using his teeth, and let go. Instead of falling to the ground, the horse shoe demonstrated a magnetic property that had been added on by the pony. "I think it means for me to even work with the orbs, I'll need some way to turn off the effect so I won't be blown away myself. Could I ask you to add a disable effect onto these shoes? And the box here?"

[Mojo]

Hoofcourt looked upon the magnetic horse shoe with fascination.

"You mean, a spell to disable this horse shoe's magnetic effect? I suppose I can do that, not a difficult spell to conger. And I do like the suggestion of a test spell first. This way, both of us can observe how the magic will interact with a single orb before I cast that same spell on the others. I believe I am ready to proceed, with your permission of course, Java."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java laughed a bit, "Not the magnetic effect. I have that there to help me handle more delicate tools. No, I mean have the hooves enchanted with a dispell effect, to temporairly stop the orbs when they draw closer." He then stepped around the box to come closer to hoof court, and looked down to the box of Orbs he had. "And yes, a test spell would be best. This way, if it doesn't work as I had hoped, we can quickly abort without extending to much resources. You may begin when you are ready sir. And... is there anything I can do to help?"

[Mojo]

"Oh my!" Professor Hoofcourt neighed, "I sorry I didn't understand your instructions, Java. Guess I'm getting rather difficult in my old age. Now I know exactly what you are looking for in the spell. Yes, I am ready to proceed. Please, stand back and we'll soon see if I performed the spell correctly."

Focusing his attention on the metal sphere closest to him, the elderly unicorn stallion closed his eyes as his horn glowed. Silently, he muttered the spell, causing the metal orb to glow and raise slowly up into the air. A gentle breeze began to surround the object, blowing around the room as the Professor continued to cast the spell. When he finished, the metal ball gently descended and made a safe landing on the floor. Opening his eyes, Professor Hoofcourt gave a satisfactory smile.

"Alright Java, the spell has been cast. Time to test it."

[moonshineTheleocat]

The caffinated pony watched in awe as the enchantment took place. The display was truely something amazing to see. Well amazing for a pony that could not do such feats on his own. And actually, Java had been left with a subtle amount of envy as he watched. And when it was done? He stamped his hooves in applause. "Amazing! Simply amazing hoof court," the pony chimed. Java smiled as he now approached the large orb that was resting on the floor. He looked down to it for a moment, studying the older stallion's handy work with his eyes. He wasn't quite sure how to use it just yet, given that he had very little experience with magic objects.

"Erm... how do I...."

[Mojo]

It took a few moments for Professor Hoofcourt to recover, spellcasting was NOT as easy as it looks. Sitting down and taking a few more sips of tea, the elderly unicorn stallion got back up on his hooves.

"If I cast this spell correctly, this metallic orb will produce a small amount of breeze on command. I did remember that you asked for me to put in a failsafe that means only when the six enchanted orbs are together that they will operate together for the larger breeze to powr your blimp craft. I'll gladly use my spell on the other five, but first, let's test this particular one. I suggest we perform the test outdoors, just in case I didn't get the spell correct and it produces stronger than anticipated wind speeds."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java looked down to the orb with a very curious expression. "Ah. I see now..." The pony hummed as he now slowly bent down to carefully clamp his teeth onto the metal object. Once he had it secured in his jaws, he lifted it up and turned to the door. He approached it, and gave the knob a light tap with his hoof to open it up, let the door swing open so he could step outside. He walked forward a couple of paces. His hoofs lightly clopping against the stone pavement leading up to his door till he was a good distance away from both his house and the nearby cliff side ledge.

Once he was satisfied on this location, he went ahead and set it down, and waited for Professor Hoofcourt. "Well strong wind-speeds won't be to bad. It means a slight adjustments will be needed. And... what is the command to activate this orb? I am not to familiar with these sorts of enchantments if you will."

[Mojo]

Professor Hoofcourt followed Java outside, closing the door behind him with his horn magic.

"Very good, Java. Feel free to set that orb down anywhere on the ground," the elderly unicorn stallion said as he prepared to explain to his host how to activate the orb's magic. "I've set the spell to activate with a key phrase and an action. To prevent the orbs from accidential activation by uttering the key phrase unintentionally, I added the action as a failsafe. Alright, the key phrase is BREEZE, BEGIN and the action needed to trigger the orbs are stomping your left front hoof three times. To stop the wind of the orb, simply utter the phrase, BREEZE, STOP and stomp that same hoof three times again. Since you will be using this device, I believe you should be the one to test it first. I will stand by in case anything goes wrong."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java's eyes curiously looked over HoofCourt as he gave the explination. And then looked down to the orb that sat mundanely on the ground. His hoof slowly raised up, a bit hesitantly. He was half wondering if this thing would make a typhoon appear out of no where... or perhaps a twister that tore through town? Well only time could say.

Java cleared his throat, and called out the phrase as instructed. “BREEZE, BEGIN!”

His hoof quickly lowered down onto the ground, creating a thundering noise as it was brought back up, and rasped against the ground twice more.

[Mojo]

Immediately, the orb started to glow with a green aura. As it glowed, it started to generate a gentle breeze. It took several seconds for the spell to reach it's full effect and when it did, the breeze was strong enough to blow some leaves around, but not strong enough to cause any wind damage to anything around it.

"Ah yes!" Professor Hoofcourt neighed, "I believe I achieved the proper magical balance! You see, each of the orbs will only be capable of producing a small amount of wind alone, but when they are together and activated together, then the wind will be much stronger. A failsafe against some pony possibly stealing one to use for evil purposes. What do you think, Java?"

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java approached the orb, curiously after feeling a gentle breeze brush against him. The pony then lowered his head next to it, and closed his eyes. Letting the breeze blow through his already slightly messy mane. The pony let out a relaxed sigh as he tilted his head a bit to let the refreshing breeze take an angle near his ears. The curiousity of an engineer always pulls him into appreciating the small things of life. And even magic, and experiments. Sometimes it's the small things that helps the pony figure out what he needs to do next, or what he needs to fix.

"Mmm... Yes, this failsafe is perfect," Java nickered happily after pulling his head back up. His eyes now opened, and turned curiously to the older gentlepony. "But tell me... how much stronger will these become in tandem? After all... they will have to push a ship with a weight normally greater than a ton."

[Mojo]

"I believe I have calculated the proper propullion ratio into the spell," Professor Hoofcourt said confidently, "this was merely the first test. We'll only know if I have indeed got the ratio correct as a combined force when I magically enchant the other orbs and then we try them together. Be warned, to do a full scale test with all of the orbs together will require us to find a safe testing ground, one that is far away from villages and towns, a place that is nearly desolate just in case the spell misfires. Java, do you know of such a place nearby?"

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java lightly shook his head, although a bit begrudgingly. All the projects he's had in the past were usually small enough that it could be tested in his lab without causing severe structural damage. But to test something that was meant to push an entire airship? Well, it would be almost absurd to place that inside any building. And, as Professor Hoofcourt had stated himself, it would be unwise to test anywhere near civilization. "Uh.... well sadly no," Java hummed as he now looked back down to the orb. His eyes narrowing down to observe it's form. "Most of the tests I run are inside my own personal lab, or in the facility that I career at. Neither of which would be a good candidate for such a tragedy to occur."

Java lowed his haunches down to the ground and began to think to himself. He was never really one who followed the regular scientist's safety procedures. He always prefered to just jump in and see if it works. The outcome was never really to much of a problem for the pony, as even failure always had plenty to teach the world. He could always go with Professor Hoofcourt's judgement, and hope that it works. After all, he must be a professor for some reason. Right?

"I believe I will take your word for this sir! I will test it live when the ship is complete. And I will even take the time to send back the results, if you like?"

[Mojo]

Professor Hoofcourt listened closely to Java's words, looking disappointed when he mentioned there was no safe testing area nearby. Soon, the face of the bearded elderly unicorn stallion brightened.

"I DO have such a place we can test them!" the Professor neighed. "I can teleport us there with ease! After I finish enchanting the remaining silver balls, It is up to you, Java. I am more than willing to test my work at my own facility. I feel it is essential to ensure that I got the spell correct. I haven't done this level of object enchantments in years, so I could be a little, rusty, at it. Shall we proceed, Java?"